


You're Worth Saving

by autumntbz



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Haknyeon is a servant, M/M, Medieval, Royalty, Sunwoo is a prince, oh well, the king is a dick, yeah this is a mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 21:12:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15649038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumntbz/pseuds/autumntbz
Summary: Sunwoo is a Prince with different ideas about how people should be treated compared to his father. Or was a Prince. Now imprisoned and due to be executed, Sunwoo can only sit and count down the hours and will his thoughts about a servant he'll probably never see again to go away.





	You're Worth Saving

**Author's Note:**

> It’s ya girl back with more shitty Sunhak fics.
> 
> Do love me a good royalty fic and I hope you do too so strap yourselves in and prepare to read this word vomit.
> 
> Also i wrote this in a strange order so some of the scenes like disconnect and have different tones but like i write differently depending on how i'm feeling so soz

I feel myself wake up to the darkness of my cell. I’m still not used to it despite being here for what I think has been a week.

Only a week ago I was informed by my father, the King, that he had found me a wife for me to marry when I turn 18. I didn’t even try to argue back, I just had to sit there and accept it, especially since it was a public announcement. What was I meant to fight back with anyways? Say that I’d rather have a prince more than a princess? I couldn’t even imagine what the punishment for homosexuality would have been a week ago.

Now I know it all too well as it looms over me; execution.

It wasn’t my fault, I swear. I didn’t even want to kiss him, he kissed me. Okay maybe I did a little bit but I certainly did NOT want my father to walk in and see us.

I went to the nearest tavern to simply get a drink, to blow off some steam in a bar where I thought no-one would recognise me up close, but soon gladly let the barman lead me by the mouth into the back room.

Bloody typical isn’t it that it was the one night my father insisted on a royal visit to that particular tavern to condemn them on their facilities.

Bloody typical he wanted to check the pantry.

Bloody typical he found me with another boys tongue down my throat. 

No sooner had we been ripped apart had he announced the execution – a joint one, how sweet of him.

I was stripped of all my clothes but my cream undergarments and thrown mercilessly into the cell that until now only held people accused of murder or rape. Thrown in here by my own father who roared abuse at me while flinging me down the stairs, about how I’ve successfully ruined the name of the royal family. I guess the whole country will be talking about it.

Now all I can do is wait in this godforsaken place, going slowly insane; my father’s words echoing off the inside of my head, making me feel dirtier than I already physically am. I knew I was wrong for having such thoughts about boys, but it’s not like I have a choice in the matter; it’s something my brain did without me telling it to.

Especially whenever I saw a particular blonde servant.

I doubt I’ll ever be able to see him again.

~Months before~

  
I was always told by my mother to never take much notice of the servants due to them living only for the purpose of serving us, so ‘niceties aren’t worth our time.’

But I physically couldn’t ignore one of their stares. It wasn’t a love-sick puppy stare; desperate and sweet.

It was an intense stare; hard yet somehow full of admiration, a stare that wanted to protect me.

It was a stare belonging to a beautiful face of a boy about the same age as me. Whenever I saw him, his eyes were on me, as if looking for signs of trouble around me. His stare was one I felt like I could trust. He made me curious, in more ways than one.

On the few times he had been part of the team serving us dinner, his stare was always different; his eyes would follow my fork full of food with every bite I took, his mouth open slightly. I knew that the staffs were given small meals but I never imagined that they would receive so little as to be practically drooling over seeing us eat.

 I always found myself staring back, especially during meals, as he usually placed himself directly in front of me, down the steps from the table. Perhaps on purpose. All the other servants had their heads down, waiting to hear the bell that my father rings when we’re done - which is what they’re meant to be doing - but this one boy kept his head up and his eyes fixed on me and my fork.

I realised I wanted nothing more to be able to feed this boy, to acknowledge his work as a servant by treating him to some of the food they have to prepare for us. But I knew if I even do so much as mention a servant in that way, I’d be slapped or worse.

I came up with a plan one night after a particularly long dinner of being under this blonde boys stare. As midnight approached, I rang my bell next to my bed that signalled a servant to take my request.

I asked a girl once she had appeared to send up a plate of leftovers. I said ‘please’ and her professional façade dropped for a second; she’s probably never heard that word come from a royal.

Soon enough there was a sharp rapt on the door. I had been getting my shoes ready to venture down to the servants quarters but as I looked up at the servant entering, I found out I didn’t have to.

The very boy I was going to go find was standing at the door, a heaping plate of food in his hands.  
He stared at me, the same intense stare as usual and slowly walked over to the small table before setting it down.

“Your food... Your Highness” his reluctance to say such a phrase could be heard in his words.  
His voice was somewhat cute despite his never changing hard face.

I clear my throat. He paused just before the door, about to return to his part of the castle.

“Stay and eat some with me” I demanded. Technically, a servant must not disobey any orders.

He turned around slowly, his hard face finally broken. His eyebrows crinkled together in confusion, his mouth open slightly.

“You’re joking surely Sun- Your Highness” I can see the panic in his face as he slips up. Servants are only ever meant to speak using one sentence in total on duty, and it must end with ‘Your Highness.’ He’s no doubt heard the story the servants are told when they begin that if they say any of our names or anything unnecessary - they get hanged.

“No, please call me Sunwoo. And no, I happened to ask for this food for you actually.” I gesture to the shoes waiting for me. “This means I don’t have to come find you now…your face during dinner said that you wanted to try some.”

He looks warily at me. If I were in his position I wouldn’t know what to think either. I gesture to a seat beside the table and then sit opposite it, waiting.

I watch him check the door behind him, as if he’s expecting my father to burst through and catch him.

“Please, sit” I demand again. I want him to trust me; he must know that I’m different from my family, from most royals, due to the way he defiantly stares at me. If anyone had stared at my sister that way, she would have told and they’d be long gone.

He shifts his servant uniform slightly and sits down on the very edge of the seat before staring at me. I’ve never seen a stare like this; he looks almost scared.

“Please eat and relax. I swear on my life as a prince that there’s no one else here, and that no one else is going to come in.”

I watch as he begins slowly picking up the food with his hands. There is a fork and knife resting on the plate, but there’s a fair chance he actually doesn’t know how to use them. Every so often he glances up to see me watching him, as if double checking that I’m not tricking him.

I just smile at him, watching him pick up the speed, clearing the entire plate within minutes.

I chuckle slightly at the mess of chicken and gravy that now coats the outside of his mouth and offer him a cloth to clean himself up.

“How old are you?” I ask. He has a young face but I can tell he has a lot of maturity.

“I…I don’t know” he near whispers. I can tell I’ve hit a sore spot and am about to change the subject when he speaks up again.

“I was born here, in the castle. Servants like me aren’t allowed birthdays. Dad always said we’re lucky we get to keep our names…” he mumbles bitterly, trailing off. I can’t blame him; the way servants are treated is disgusting. I’ve been talked to countless times about how I’m too nice to them, but I think the conversation should be going the other way around.

“I’m sorry” I know that it won’t make much difference, but it’s the least I can say.

He laughs before his face returns to his usual stare I know him best with.

“It’s not like it’s your fault. I know you’re different Sunwoo.”

He stands up to leave, and in my midst of my shock at a servant being so confident, I manage to ask

“What should I call you?”

He turns inside the opening of the door, his face brighter than before.

“Haknyeon”

~~~

A noise shakes me out of my daydream, out of my thoughts of possibly the best day I’ve ever lived.

I push Haknyeon from my head, knowing that I’ll never see him again.

As I turn my head towards where I know my door is in my cell I hear the jangling of keys.

This is it. This is my father coming for me to take me to the execution clearing.

With all the strength I have – albeit not much – I push myself up into a sitting position, leaning back against the stone wall, breathing heavily from both exertion and fear. Being in here with only scraps of bread has weakened me beyond my limits. I wasn’t sure how much longer I would survive in here, so perhaps this can actually give me the freedom I’ve been looking for.

Light begins to creep its way in a small slit as the door is finally pushed open and inwards.

The light temporarily blinds me but as soon as I can squint at the door, I know that it’s not my father, or the executioner.

It’s Haknyeon.

His face is glowing in the light, his hair like a halo. An angel. A saviour. He looks determined, like he’s got a plan.

He shoves what I’m assuming is the key in his pocket of his brown trousers and rushes over to me. He leans down and puts his hands on my shoulders, squeezing them slightly.

“Let’s get you out of here Your Highness” He’s practically smirking, obviously proud of himself. I don’t even have the energy to think about how the hell he pulled this off or to even thank him; I just let him hoist me up from the floor and let him lead me out of the cell.

He shushes quietly in my ear as we leave my cell properly, giving me shivers. _Now is really not the time to be reacting in such a way Sunwoo, you could literally be killed on the spot if you’re seen._

Going up the stairs that led down to my solitary cell proved difficult. I didn’t have the energy to walk properly, resulting in me leaning nearly all of my weight against his side. When I look at face though he’s smiling, muttering to himself, something along the lines of “I actually did it”

“When was it meant to happen?” I ask. It’s the first time I’ve spoken since asking for another beer; my voice is rough and it cracks.

His hand falters on a door knob of the iron door at the top; he turns his head towards mine. He’s not smiling anymore.

“Tomorrow”

I just nod and thank every single God I’ve ever learnt about for bringing Haknyeon to me.

He leads me blindly, not stopping for a second even to decide which corridor to go down. I see no guards or servants or anyone on the way. In fact I don’t even recognise the hallways we’re stumbling through. Haknyeon must have this rescue planned out well.

I just trust him; trust that he’s leading me to freedom and not to death.

He opens a final door and I’m met with a view of the gardens round the back of the castle. Another sound enters my ears - before only being filled with the sounds of us breathing - the sounds of shouting and thunderous footsteps.

“Shit, we’ve got to hurry. I didn’t think they’d notice in such short time” Haknyeon stresses before picking up the speed through the flowers, not caring about how many he’s standing on.

I think I’m going to collapse. I feel my eyes heavily close. The last thing I hear is Haknyeon yelling in my ear.  


~~~

 

The soothing sound of moving water awakes me. I feel grass beneath my head, like the softest pillow on earth compared to jagged rock I was forced to use.

I’m aware of hands touching one of my own and open my eyes to the hard face of Haknyeon sitting staring out at our surroundings.

His face changes as he looks down at me, softening as he sees me awake.

He pulls me up to my feet awkwardly before holding my hand and leading to closer to the source of the water sound; a small stream.

As he nudges me into the water he continues staring at me intently; like I’ll faint again if he looks away.

Before I can even think of saying something he joins me in the water and says

“I had to carry you for a few miles” He points somewhere behind my shoulder before grabbing onto my arm, keeping us both steady in the water that comes up to our waists.

I look behind me and see the castle far in the distance. All the windows are lit despite the moon being far up in the sky. The whole castle is probably looking for me.

I feel tears of gratitude form in my eyes as I turn back to Haknyeon.

“How?” It’s the only word I feel I need to ask him.

“As soon as I found out I knew I needed to save you. Your sentence didn’t make any sense; there was no real reason for you to be executed. I’m sorry I couldn’t come any sooner Sunwoo…but if I didn’t have all the guard times correct I’d be caught and killed on the spot. As soon as I was sure I had a plan, I came to get you. Good thing I came when I did, I overheard a fellow servant before I left saying that it was going to be tomorrow…”

He spoke slowly as if making sure I understood everything. As he did it he cupped water in his hands and washed my face, hair and neck as best he could before washing away his own sweat and dirt. I eased my hands into the fresh stream, watching blood from cuts turn the water red.

Haknyeon looks concerned and holds my hand in his again. I have a large gash on my palm where I remember falling on when I was first pushed into the cell. It obviously stopped bleeding long ago but the dirt and dust that got into it left it looking ugly and red now.

I can only watch as Haknyeon brings his lips down to the cut and presses gently. He keeps eye contact with me the whole time and it all feels very intimate, especially under the moonlight.

“You need to rest” he says, his mouth still very close to my hand.

I nod slightly, not sure what to say as he leads me back out the water by the same hand which now feels no pain.

He leads me to a patch of grass and encourages me to sit down. From where I’m sat I can see the castle again and the full realisation of the night’s events sinks in. I can’t stop the tears falling silently. It just reminds me of my father; he always said men aren’t allowed to cry. I can’t bear to think about what’ll happen to me if he finds me.

I close my eyes and let the sobs rack out, my whole body shaking. I flinch from an arm around my shoulders but Haknyeon persists and rubs my shoulder with enough pressure for me to feel it under my panic. His head rests on my other shoulder heavily; his body weight a firm reminder that I’m not alone in this.

“Sunwoo, you’re safe. You’re never going back there again if I have anything to do with it.”

His words penetrate my thoughts of my father and force me to focus on this perfect boy that saved my life. I’ve also possibly saved him from a life doomed to be a servant until he dies.

As my tears subside he eases me down on the grass and I’m able to stop shaking. The night sky is calming in itself. It’s just me, Haknyeon, the moon and the stars.

I wipe away the last few tears; ashamed of myself for being weak when I now know that Haknyeon is possibly one of the most emotionally strong men I know. Yet he’s still only a boy.

I look over to see him lying next to me, his eyes closed blissfully.

I take one last look at him before letting my own eyes close. I wanted to thank him again. There is so much I want to say to him but I guess it’ll have to wait until the morning.

I’m about to greet my dreams when I hear his sweet voice breaking the silence.

“I didn’t just save you because kissed a boy, although I’m sure you’ve realised that. I would have saved you from that cell if you had done anything; absolutely anything. You’re worth saving, Sunwoo. I knew I loved you since you saw me staring and I was still alive the next day.”

“You… you love me?” I’ve heard of love before, but it is a mythical thing. I’ve never known of anyone in the country marrying for love, only money.

He smiles softly, his eyes open again.

 “I think most of the female servants did. But they all liked you because of your title, your looks. Just a love for the you they saw on the surface. Not me; I’ve been observing you, you hate being a prince. You find it suffocating, you want to break free; I saw it in your eyes every time you looked towards any exits. I’ve seen how you hold yourself, like you have to refrain yourself from running off, from jumping, from laughing. All you want is freedom. I fell in love with this Sunwoo. Not Prince Kim Sunwoo, but the Sunwoo who wants to be a free 17 year-old. I fell in love with the true Kim Sunwoo. The Sunwoo that enjoys mundane things like puzzles, the Sunwoo that savours his food like he understands how lucky he is to have it.” I watch him pause. Under the moonlight his angelic features are accentuated. The words he’s saying don’t make sense to me; how could he of payed so much attention to me that he knows all these things, all these things I haven’t even realised myself until now? He takes a deep breath and continues.

“The Sunwoo that risked his life for me…” He trails off and I know he’s referring to when I gave him food.   “If you weren’t a prince I’d fall in love with you all the same.”

The sentence resonates within me. The last week of torture fades from my brain; this is the only thing that matters right now, this boy next to me.

He finally turns his head away from the sky to looks at me expectantly. My mind is blank. What am I supposed to say? My voice decides to take action before my brain does.

“I love the way you say my name”

He looks confused and almost hurt; clearly not the response he was searching in my eyes for. Before he can say anything I continue.

“You say it differently to others. You say it like I’m an actual person, someone who lives and has choices, not like I’m nothing more than a Prince being controlled. Others say it soullessly, just because they have to. But you, you say it like you want to. And I can’t thank you enough for simply that, and for today.”

I say it in barely more than a whisper, but it doesn’t matter as we’re now so close together.

His eyes flit between mine then travel all over my face.

“I’ve only ever been this close in my dreams… turns out my dreams couldn’t do your beauty justice. And I say your name like that because I DO want to, I want to repeat your name over and over, I want to pray to your name like a God, because I believe you’re worthy of being one.”

He waits for me to say something back, but I can’t; how am I expected to after that? His words wash over me in waves, making me feel light headed. Sure, as a prince I’ve been likened to many things; works of art, a summer’s day and once even the sun itself. But never have I heard anyone on this planet be referred to as a God. To be referred to the highest being Himself is truly something to treasure. The same way I’ve decided I’m going to treasure Haknyeon from now on.

“I always noticed you; you stood out from all the other staff. You shone like a welcoming light, beckoning me to join you. You’re beautiful and I found myself thinking so whenever I saw you. After a while I couldn’t stop myself from imagining what this might feel like…”

“Like what might feel like?”

As his answer I lean across the leaves we lay on and greet his lips with mine.

It’s different from the boy in the bar; it’s not aggressive or sloppy. It’s soft and careful, our mouths only moving gently against each other. I feel myself become free as I realise that this is all I ever wanted, not riches or land, just this; Haknyeon.

He moves so he’s on top of me, deepening the kiss. Under my hands I feel his scratchy servant uniform, still a bit damp, and decide that as soon as we find the money, I’m getting him out of it and burning it; burning away all our memories of the castle.

As I feel his tongue enter my own mouth I stop him; it’s too similar to the tavern, it’s too close for comfort. Right now anyways. He seems to understand as he opens his eyes and nods slightly before returning to his place beside me, not leaving any part of our sides not touching however.

I don’t have time to breathe properly before I feel his lips landing firmly just to the right of my mouth.

“I love you” he whispers before turning my head with his hand to kiss me properly again.

It’s a feeling I don’t think I’ll ever get used to yet it’s a feeling I never want to go without for very long.

He pulls his lips from mine slowly, like he’s savouring the taste, and returns his head to the ground. His hand is still on my face, stroking my cheek gently and tapping his fingertips lightly against my face.

He smiles at me; a smile that seems to cure me of the last week, a smile that tells me that I’m okay now, that I’m finally free and safe with him.

He brings me into his arms and I realise that no matter where we go from here, what we do when we wake up tomorrow, what we choose to do with our lives; I’ll be fine with whatever as long as he’s with me, and I never have to think about that castle ever again.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I may or may not have made Sunwoo pass out just bc I’m lazy and couldn’t be bothered describing them walking for miles.
> 
> Anyways this idea legit came out of nowhere when I was rewatching The 100 so like ??? idk.
> 
> Anyways (again) I love Sunhak with all my heart and I hope everyone has a good day/night.
> 
> (also I’ve finally admitted to myself that I have 3 TBZ biases, like it used to just be Eric but know Hak and Sunwoo are there too oops)


End file.
